Entente Cordiale
by Hawkeye116
Summary: This journey's greater than it seems. It's not just about the end result. It's about coming of age, knowing the truth. It's about learning to see things differently. It's about finding yourself on that long, twisting road. Zutara. Formerly Understanding.
1. Prologue

EDIT A/N: The prologue has been revamped to fit current canon. Huzzah!

A/N: W00t! Huzzah, I have finally started my very own multi-chaptered Zutara story! Been meaning to do it since I became a Zutarian in August, was going to make Floating Away a Zutara (that story kind of died… Made it a one-shot), and then after that was busy for a while with Engagement Necklace. I'm just going to say it right now: this story might and probably will refer to certain topics covered within The Engagement Necklace; just a warning. I like the kind of connected-ness between my stories and so I'm probably going to add in stuff from Engagement Necklace as well as canon/whatever.

So. Enough A/N. Time for fic.

By the way, it's Pro-Zutara Week for me.

Also, WARNING! Contains spoilers.

Disclaimer: Bryan and Mike own Avatar, not me.

* * *

Entente Cordiale

Prologue

* * *

When he pulled out the knife and chopped off his ponytail, he did it without hesitation; and when he handed the knife to Iroh, Iroh said nothing and did not question, but followed Zuko's lead. And not for the first time, Zuko felt very appreciative of his uncle. As his uncle cut off the topknot without questioning, Zuko knew this marked the end of a chapter in his life. Something new was coming, something new would happen. But he didn't know what. And he didn't know what was going to happen. So he did the best thing there was to do: he embraced his uncle, and though there were no words spoken, Zuko knew that Iroh understood all that the gesture meant. 

After a while they sat in silence, staring out at the stream as it flowed slowly through the riverbed, reflecting the dazzling sunlight of the day. But the sun was setting and the day was dying, and it was all so symbolic; it was like that the old Prince Zuko was dying with the sun and the new just plain Zuko was being born.

At long last, Iroh spoke. "Zuko," he said softly, "Where do you want to go from here?"

And Zuko told Iroh the absolute and honest truth. "I don't know, uncle. I don't know."

"Well," mused his uncle, "We have to go somewhere. Azula will be swift in chasing us down, and we shall be found by the morning if we stay."

Zuko nodded, gathering his pack and slinging it over his shoulder. He followed his uncle as Iroh turned away from the stream, setting a path to nowhere—well, not nowhere really, for all paths led somewhere—but wherever his destination was, it didn't matter. Zuko made to follow Iroh, but something held him back. His eyes tore back to the stream, where Iroh's and his hair had flowed away downstream. It was difficult to leave, to tear himself from the life he was so accustomed to. Leaving the stream would mean abandoning the Fire Nation completely, leaving any hope of the old life behind.

It was as if Iroh read his mind. "Zuko, there never was any hope of going back," he said quietly. Zuko clenched his eyes shot and lowered his head, feeling the last rays of the warm sun fading and giving way to the cool, but oddly pleasant, feeling of the night. It was chilly, but not overly so; spring had come, and now night was not so cold as winter had been. Night was not so bad, Zuko thought.

His eyes snapped open. "I'm ready," he admitted with confidence, and stepped away from the bank of the stream, willing to follow his uncle to even the ends of the earth.

* * *

Stealing the ostrich had been as easy as ever. The two had taken the bird and ridden it to the outskirts of a forest, camping out on the edge of the immense tangled mass of trees for about a week or so. Occasionally Zuko would go into a nearby Earth village (with his pointy hat shielding his large scar from sight, of course) and gather what food he could. When Zuko came back with the food, Iroh said nothing. They did not have any money; odds were that the victuals were stolen from various merchants or families. 

One day, Zuko didn't come back from the village. Iroh hitched up the ostrich and walked down with it into the small town, searching for Zuko. As the sun was setting, he heard familiar voices, bullying some innocent townspeople in order to extract information. One especially malicious voice set Iroh on edge—it was a voice he hadn't heard in two years.

* * *

Katara was lying in a less than comfortable sleeping bag. She shifted around in it, contemplating a many things. She wondered about the Avatar State, and what Avatar Roku was like, and what the Spirit World was like. She asked herself what would happen if Aang were to be killed in the Avatar State, if the hope would be completely lost to Fire forever and ever. She shook the thought off, but it was incredibly disturbing to think about and Katara forced herself to forget her musings. Her thoughts wandered to her father, who was most likely at the rendezvous point with Bato, somewhere in this Nation. Just thinking that sent great pangs of homesickness within her. How long had it been since she'd been home? A full season, almost, about three months, maybe more. But such was the life of the traveler, and Aang needed her now, and she had all that she would ever need. 

At least, she tried to tell herself that, but she just couldn't; not now, anyway, when she was alone. Her thoughts would always be hers alone. She could wish for things she couldn't have if she wanted to, so long as she didn't say anything about. And right now, she wanted to be home again, to be near the water. Unfortunately, she wasn't even near the coast; but that was alright, but she could imagine, imagine, imagine…

Sleep came almost immediately as Katara slowly closed her eyes, dreaming of the sea, dreaming of home.

* * *

She woke what seemed not a minute later. Someone was shaking her, telling her to get up, asking her what was wrong, saying that she was muttering in her sleep and he was worried about her— 

"Aang?" Katara asked sleepily.

"Katara!" he shouted happily. "You were talking in your sleep—something about hating this place and something else about the ocean—and you sounded so—Katara, are you alright?"

Katara didn't answer, but rubbed her eyes. "What are you talking about Aang?" she questioned, confused. His speech had been so broken, as though he was rushed or—

"Katara, I'm—Katara. What's wrong?" the Avatar asked her, his wide gray eyes telling her it was okay to tell him, that he would listen because he cared and he was worried for her and wanted her to be okay, that everything would be okay—and Katara couldn't look into those eyes, because she knew there was love in that gaze, something she now recognized that she had first noticed and even _returned_ in the Cave of Two Lovers. But after that, she knew it wasn't right—she had pointedly avoided being alone with him ever since. That loving gaze—she couldn't deal with it, couldn't break his heart with her indifference or her awful longing to go home.

"Oh, Aang," she said quietly, still avoiding his gaze, "I miss my home and my _family_."

It was then the tears started to come, tears of frustration and anger and betrayal and hatred and self-hatred and bitter, bitter sadness, everything that she had wished to cry about since her adventure had begun but hadn't so that she would be strong.

Aang, meanwhile, looked positively heartbroken, seeing Katara like that. "But your family is _here_. Katara, your home is _here_."

"No, no, _no_," she said through her tears, turning away from Aang, "I miss the sea. The sea, Aang. The sea." And then she turned back to him, looking into that awful gaze of his that told her he loved her, telling him with _her_ gaze that if he loved her then he should understand. She quite abruptly bolted out of her sleeping bag and encircled her arms around his body, tears streaming down his face. "I love you, Aang," she whispered into his ear, her heart breaking as he gasped in joy, "But just not in the way you think."

She left the him after that, hoping, dearly _hoping_, that he would understand.

* * *

A/N: I know, no Zutara interaction. This was more a prologue/exposition. Besides, romance isn't good if it's rushed, is it? xD 


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Weellllll, after Cave of Two Lovers, this fic kinda died. So. I reworked it a bit. And now it's all better. Huzzah for a new beginning. (sighs at loss of good writing) Also, I added this chapter as a new one and revamped the old prologue. So read that first. If you want.

…And I need a new title for this fic. Srsly. Any ideas? (I thought maybe Entente Cordiale would do. It is, by definition, "shared understanding" or "peace agreement." Also, "an informal alliance between countries" or "a friendly understanding between political powers." I dunno. I think it sounds fitting).

Just a quick question: what is the bird/horse thing called? An ostrich? An emuhorse? Maybe even a horstrich or an ostrihorse? I dunno. I'm going with "ostrich."

Btw, SPOILER WARNING.

Disclaimer: Mike and Bryan, you geniuses, you! How I wish I could have your creativity. But alas, I shall shed an emo tear, for I have no claim to your wonderful work, _Avatar_. (Shot for imbecility)

* * *

Entente Cordiale

Chapter One

* * *

Travel was completely out of the question after the confrontation with his sister and her lackeys. Mei's smile had been nothing but malign, revealing her absolute, maddening bloodlust. Tai Li had just been as goofy as ever, giving him a sympathetic smile as she located his pressure points and rendered his Firebending useless. And then there had been his sister, Azula, with the sizzling crack of lightning aimed straight at his heart—and, selfless, Iroh had blocked the bolt. There had been nothing else to do at the moment, Iroh told Zuko. But it was such a terrible thing to see, the only person he loved collapsing on the ground with a mortal wound, a terrible shock that would've killed the old man if not for the ability to Bend. 

After that, he had hoisted Iroh onto the back of the ostrich and slapped the enormous bird in the haunches, bellowing at it to go. He'd sprinted off in a different direction, hoping to divert Azula's attention from his uncle. Anything to save Iroh. His uncle had to live. Iroh had saved Zuko's life and Zuko would do the same for him.

But now he was clambering through a wild forest somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, crashing on fallen branches and dead leaves and all sorts of underbrush. He cursed violently when his right foot got stuck in an impeding tree root, grasping on a branch of a nearby tree to stop from falling over. Hearing quiet voices in the distance and the rustle of leaves a bit behind him, he righted himself and dashed as fast as he could into a clearing.

Thrashing his head about, he wondered which way to go. _Which way will be safe?_

The only way to go was away from Azula. And that meant tramping through more underbrush and batting thick branches full of leaves and tearing through thorn bushes that would rip his clothing, scratch at his skin. And he was so tired from running all night. There had to be some other way to go, some other thing to do.

He glanced up at the sky and saw the stars: a constellation reeling in the western part of the sky depicted a dragon hissing at a neighboring star formation, a gull slightly to the north. And to the south of the dragon was another bird, although this one was more fearsome than the gull, and cleverer, too. The hawk constellation hung in the sky, perched on a tree formed of stars, staring at the small skirmish between the dragon and the gull. Zuko's eyes widened. Of course. Azula was the dragon, pursuing him, his uncle, and now the Avatar. The Avatar was the gull; and Azula, the dragon, desired to get the Avatar first. But Zuko was the hawk, hiding in a tree and avoiding Azula.

Marveling at how he hadn't thought of it before, Zuko scrambled up a tree to one of the highest branches, where he stayed still and looked out over the forest, trying to catch a glimpse of any one of his pursuers. A cool breeze ruffled the leaves around him, but he paid it no mind. His eyes scoured countless tops of trees; he grunted in frustration when he couldn't see below the canopy of endless green that, right now, only looked more like a silver sea reflecting pale moonlight. He glanced at the sky and a cold crescent moon stared back down at him, as though mocking him, saying, 'I will not let you see anything, you fool, you _failure_.'

Clenching his teeth, his stepped down from the apex of the tree, working his way down to a more concealed branch. Zuko rested his back against the tree, closing his eyes—he was so _tired_. But still, the branch was quite high up, and it made him uncomfortable to think what would happen if he shifted around in his sleep or—Agni forbid it—fall to his death because of it.

So he kept awake, staring down the clearing below. About an hour after he had settled on his current branch (or so he thought it was; it might've been but twenty minutes or even four hours since he had settled), he heard voices down in the clearing. Peeking over the edge of his branch, his breath caught in his chest as he saw two dark figures conversing quietly. Straining his ears, he tried to decipher their whispers, and understood a few words here and there.

"—off on an ostrich—" (A jumble of words followed here that Zuko couldn't understand)

"But they wouldn't separate, he's too weak-hearted—" (More mumbled words, more misunderstood meanings)

"—got to be in this forest—heard him—can't be far ahead—"

And then, a scream of frustration, a voice filled with bitterness: "He's here, he's here! I'm going to kill him."

And, horror of horrors, a burst of quick light: fire. The flame licked a tree trunk and some underbrush, and within thirty seconds, the whole clearing was ablaze.

"Come on, Tai Li, let's go. Why do you stand so still? We should catch up with Mei; capturing my buffoon of an uncle is of paramount importance. Come on, Tai Li, there are more important matters to attend to—Tai Li! Why are you just standing there gaping? Shall I have to drag you back?" shouted Azula's voice over the roar of fire.

"I—I'm fine, let's get out of here!" called back Tai Li after a moment's silence, and Zuko watched in horror as they ran off through the woods, back the way they'd come, leaving him behind to burn to death.

He coughed as smoke filtered up into the branches, and his eyes watered. _Must get out of here, must get out of here—_

He had never hated his sister more.

* * *

She grumbled irritably as she tromped through the grasses. The forest had long stopped and given way to an expansive plain; wild grasses and flowers grew up all around her, beautiful in some wild way. It was as though they had been left to grow long ago, as though this grassland had been entirely forgotten, lost in time. But Mei was not concerned about that, and nothing else either. She only had a mission to finish: she had to find Zuko's wounded uncle. And that, of course, meant tracking down an ostrich that traveled much faster than she could've ever dreamed of traveling. Tracking the bird was easy: it left a plain, obvious trail that any amateur could follow. But the darned bird was so fast, and it was a pain in the neck to go on tracking it down through the night for hours on end. 

Mei had wanted to go with Azula and Tai Li and hunt down Zuko, for she had been excited at the thought of speaking with him again, even if he was a failure. She had been shocked when she saw him: he had no topknot, no young, handsome face, and no sparkling gold eyes. The eyes had shocked her the most: they had no spark to them. They were just there. They weren't bored or anything of the sort. They were _dead_.

She frowned as she stepped over a muddy bank of tiny creek, not caring if her boots were sullied. Mei did not wonder at how the creek would run into a tributary that would run into a river and would ultimately end up at the ocean. She was not one to care about other things; she only cared for excitement, action. Mei was restless. And even now, she was restless. The thrill of the hunt had died somewhere back in the forest.

Plowing forward through the tall grasses, she found a dusty road. Kneeling down, she placed her hand in a small indent in the road: a footprint, just about the size of an ostrich's. She could see how the claws had driven hard into the road, and she cursed colorfully when she understood that the bird had still been running when it had left this imprint.

She set off at a sprint, streaking across the grassland rapidly with no one but the fading moon to watch her.

But that wasn't really a problem. The sun would soon be rising.

* * *

Katara yawned, opening her eyes to the blazing rays of sun raining from the eastern horizon. She looked quietly behind her at the campsite—Sokka was snoring, and Momo was curled up on Sokka's belly; Appa lay on its stomach, snuggled against Sokka and Momo. But where was Aang? 

She turned her face the other way and saw Aang perched in a tree, his back to her, as he started into the sunrise. A sorrowful mood came almost immediately over Katara, and she felt so—so lost. She approached Aang quietly and after what seemed like an eternity of internal struggle, said, "Aang, are you okay?"

He kept facing away from her as he mumbled, "Yeah, just a—yeah. I'm fine."

But she knew enough to know he was lying. "It's okay to talk to me about it, Aang," she whispered, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I understand if you don't want me to talk to you or anything, but Aang, you have to talk to me. _Please_."

His eyes were so filled with lament that she averted her gaze to shove away the guilt. "You know I love you like my own family, Aang. I always have."

The gray eyes flashed happily, if only for a moment. "Yeah. I know that." And his voice perked a bit, but then he kept silent and Katara did too, for she didn't know what else to say. And soon his voice became sulky again as he said, "Why?"

Katara didn't have an answer for that, but she tried her best. "Sometimes—sometimes things like that just don't last."

"You mean you—you actually—"

"Yeah. I did."

"And now you don't?"

"I don't."

"O—okay."

Feeling rather awkward, Katara left Aang to go back to start up some breakfast and wake up Sokka. Once Sokka was up, the tension in the air would be gone, and Katara would be grateful for that.

But Aang's voice stopped her. "Katara? I—thanks. For everything."

And though Katara didn't turn back to answer, she smiled.

* * *

"Ugh," muttered Katara, "we don't have any supplies left but some of this bread—and it's all hard, too." 

Sokka sighed. "I take that means I've got to go find food?" he groaned.

Katara grinned. "You know you role all too well, Sokka," she laughed. "But just don't get any rocks that look like nuts or nuts that just might be rocks," she added. Sokka shot her a look that plainly said 'Be quiet or I'm not going to get food at all.' "Sorry, Sokka," she apologized. A thought struck her. "Why don't you take Aang with you?"

The glance exchanged between Aang and her explained to Aang everything he needed to know; and he nodded and insisted that he and Sokka leave at once. Katara flashed an appreciative smile at Aang, and then the two tromped off with Momo following them.

Katara didn't even have the faintest idea that she wouldn't see them again for a long time.

* * *

A/N: Alright. There we go. Woo. Too much writing in one day… (K'sani brain is fried) Don't expect any drabbles to be posted today… 

And guess what? Half of this was written while listening to classical music. I do recommend writing while listening to classical music; it works quite well. Whaaaaaat? Don't give me that look! I have a fetish for classical music. So? xP


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Hullo! Sorry I took so long, been a bit busy. I know that in light of recent events in canon (that I shall not name for fear of spoiling those who have not seen Avatar Day yet), that this story's canon is a bit off. Again. Just… imagine they met up again and traveled together once more. Or maybe this is set right after the Swamp. I dunno yet.

Another note of interest: I know that the canonical spellings for Azula's two buddies are actually Mai and Ty Lee, but I like Mei and Tai Li better. Fanon rawks, yo! XD

Disclaimer: Lesee… If I owned Avatar, then you all would not be in this fandom because it'd be such a poorly-done show. Obviously you all are part of this fandom, so it is safe to assume that Avatar is not mine. (In other words… K'sani tried to come up with a clever disclaimer and failed. Miserably.)

* * *

Entente Cordiale

Chapter Two

* * *

Sokka walked with Aang through the plain that seemed to stretch as far as the horizon; and beyond that, there was a deep green forest that they had stumbled on days ago along the way to finding an Earthbending Master. Looking around, Sokka's stomach gave a deafening rumble. At first, Aang thought it was some wild prairie animal, but he started laughing when he found out it was only Sokka's ravenous desire for food. Still laughing good-naturedly, Aang said to Sokka, "Do you see anything, Sokka? You must be a master food-gatherer, after all." 

Sokka made a noise that sounded like a cross between indignation and self-approval. He cracked a smile at Aang and then refocused his attention to the area around them: all he saw was yellowing, untrimmed grasslands—not an animal in sight—nothing to be consumed. "Well, this stinks," remarked Sokka. Momo cooed sympathetically and offered Sokka a beetle. "No, Momo, no thanks."

Aang was not paying attention to the exchange between Momo and Sokka. His eyes seemed to be staring straight into the end of the earth, his face firm and his hands in fists. "Do you see that?" Aang asked, pointing to a blur of dark color on the horizon. A second splotch joined the first; and after a while, the two things turned into darkened silhouettes of living people—one was unmistakably on foot, and the other was riding some bipedal animal unknown to both Sokka and Aang.

"That's weird," muttered Sokka. And before Aang knew what had happened, he was standing by himself and Sokka was far ahead of him, running towards the silhouettes.

"Sokka, wait up!" Aang shouted, but he really didn't need to, for by the time he had finished shouting it, he had already passed Sokka and Momo. "Ha, you can't keep up!" bellowed Aang over his shoulder, pushing still faster and further ahead.

"Aang!" Sokka whined, struggling to stay within a reasonable distance of his friend. Momo chattered rapidly and clung tightly to Sokka's shoulder until he decided to take to the air, opening up his wings and flapping them to gain a lead on Sokka. "The world hates me, doesn't it?" muttered Sokka, trying to keep up and keep breathing. Something told him it would be a very long morning.

* * *

The ostrich trotted lazily along, nibbling on the grass here and there but finding the taste bland and bitter compared to the lush grass it used to eat when it had its previous master. That master was long gone, of course, and now it had two new masters: an old, chubby man and a tall, tempered youth. Glad to be rid of the bitterer master, the bird continued tramping on through the prairie, going towards nowhere. It was then that the ostrich realized that the one master on its back wasn't controlling where it went. And, marveling at its newfound freedom, the bird stopped right in its tracks and settled down on the edge of the dirt road, content to not be working for once. 

It was not ten minutes later that the ostrich's nap (which had been quite pleasant) was interrupted. Two boys about the same age as its other master were walking along the dirt road, talking with one another; they seemed to be looking for something.

"Sokka, I haven't seen anything along here. I think we should go back," said one.

"What?" exclaimed the other, "Those people have got to be around here. And besides, we can't go back to Katara _empty-handed_! Do you know how mad she'll be at me? And there's got to be food in this prairie; there are animals living here. The animals have to be living off of some food source."

"I never thought of that," mused the first. "Although, I haven't seen anything except the occasional weasel-fox. And they don't live off of plants."

"Yes! That means there has to be meat out here. I'm so hungry. We're going to have meat today though, so that's good."

There was a moment of awkward silence. The ostrich craned its neck over the grass to see the two boys more clearly. The shorter one, who was dressed in orange, had a frown on his face.

"Sokka, I don't eat meat."

"Yeah, yeah, and I don't like stewed sea cucumbers either, but you don't see _me_ complaining. Come on, let's go find some weasel-foxes." The one who had finished speaking (this one was taller than the first and dressed in blue) turned from his shorter companion and started walking down the road. But not after two steps, the boy stopped short. "Aang, do you see that thing? I think that's what we saw earlier this morning!"

The ostrich let out a bellow, scrambling on its legs and preparing to run as far away as possible. The two travelers had seen the ostrich, and by the looks of it, the two boys wanted to eat it for their breakfast.

"Hey! It's okay, it's okay," called the shorter boy, running over to comfort the bird. The boy rubbed the ostrich's head, smiling at it. Glancing past the ostrich's neck, the boy saw the ostrich's rider. "Oh—what—Sokka! There's somebody riding this thing! And he's unconscious, I think. It's—Sokka, it is Zuko's uncle!"

"_What?_" spat the older boy. "Well, we probably should just leave him in the grass and sell the bird—horse—beast—um, thing. We need the money. And hey, we'll have money to buy some fresh meat, not just weasel-foxes but real stuff like seal or—" The blue-adorned boy laughed at the look on his companion's face, "—or we could use some of it to buy some fresh vegetables, how does that sound?"

"No, Sokka, it's not about the meat—well, not just about the meat—but—Sokka, we can't leave him here like this! He's a hero; don't you remember what happened at the North Pole? He saved the moon; Katara told me all about it."

The blue-adorned boy's expression immediately became more sullen. "Yeah, Aang, I know what happened at the North Pole. I know what he did. I know what _Yue_ did to save the moon."

Another awkward moment followed in which a lemur that the ostrich hadn't previously seen perched on the taller boy's head and munched bugs that he'd caught, chattering animatedly. Seeing the looks on his two masters' faces, the lemur held out a would-be hand to each of them with a bug in it. The younger boy looked like he was going to be sick and the older one just shoved the lemur away.

"No, Momo—we've got to bring him back, Sokka, and besides, it's been a while since we left camp. We should be going—"

"Going? Going where? Somewhere more interesting than this place, I should hope. Nothing but continuous tromping through grass all morning, I swear I'd kill Azula when I see her again, but it'd be too much effort to expend—but hey! Don't you go anywhere. You're coming with me," said a newcomer girl dressed in dark red and black. There were knives in her hands, and she was prepared to attack the two boys. An apathetic look on her face plainly said, 'I wish I was somewhere else.' She appeared, overall, extremely dull to be around.

"What?" said the older boy stupidly.

"Sokka, that means run!" shouted the younger boy, who was already dashing away. Thrashing his head about, the blue-adornded boy ducked a knife thrown at him and mounted the ostrich, slapping it on the haunches to go. The ostrich made a vocal protest to running after it had walked so far already, but its new master only yelled at him, "Go!"

The ostrich started off at a slow trot, much to its rider's displeasure. "Hurry! We're being chased, you stupid animal!"

The girl was keeping up to speed with the ostrich, and now she made a grasp for the ostrich's leg—before the ostrich knew it, it clunked over in a most ridiculous way and its two riders sprawled out over the road. It bayed in complaint, trying to raise its legs up once again but only crashing to the road once more. The girl rapped the ostrich's head with her foot and the creature saw no more.

* * *

Mei quickly secured the dazed Water Tribe boy and Zuko's uncle. Zuko's uncle was already unconscious, so that made her job much easier. She wondered what to do now—she couldn't go back once she'd seen the Avatar. Surely the boy would come back to rescue his friend. 

So Mei sat down and ate a packet of fireflakes indifferently, waiting for the Avatar to come back. There was no way she was walking all the way back to meet Azula and Tai Li; Azula may've been the Princess of the Fire Nation, but Mei wouldn't do work she didn't have to whenever she had the chance. Mei sighed as she looked overhead, clouds gathering in the sky. Such was the life of a Fire Nation girl—everything was always so dull and dreary these days.

Three fourths of the way through her packet of fireflakes (which she had been taking quite a long time to eat), she heard one of her prisoners comment, "Let me go! Let me—who's that? Oh no. Not—Aang, you stupid _moron_—" Such a string of expletives followed that Mei was, wonder of wonders, slight amused at the warrior's antics. Turning her head to see who he was cursing about, she immediately jumped to her feet, flinging out two sharp disks that had been previously strapped to her legs. A blast of air from the Avatar sent the disks flying opposite ways. The Avatar twirled his staff and steadied it, running in towards the captives.

Not wasting a moment, Mei rushed straight at the Avatar and sent a knife flying at his head. He just barely ducked it, but the distraction was all Mei needed, and she sent two more knives at his arms; the Avatar barely noticed them coming and twisted in a way that only an Airbender could to evade the sharp projectiles. Mei screamed in frustration, hurling a random sharp object she'd found on her forearm. But the Avatar blocked that one too with only a spin of his staff; he was a worthy opponent.

Meanwhile, one of the captives' pets, a lemur, broke free of its constricting bonds and set to work on the Water Tribe boy's ropes. Not a few seconds later, the warrior was up and holding his club. He called out, "Stop! You're outnumbered."

"Oh, is she really?" laughed a voice that sent chills down the warrior's spine. But Mei smirked.

"About time you showed up, guys," she chided. "Help me tie them back up, will you?"

"Of course! I wouldn't miss capturing the Avatar for anything—and my uncle! You have done quite well, Mei, quite well," commented Azula.

"Would you stop talking and start fighting?" roared the Water Tribe warrior, charging at Azula with club in hand. Azula pretended to yawn, sidestepping the charging warrior. He grunted in frustration, wheeling around on his heels and stampeding right back at Azula. Meanwhile the Avatar had engaged in a skirmish with Tai Li and Mei; he was having trouble blocking both of the girls' attacks, but he hadn't been taken down yet. And Azula was smirking still, holding out her hand and stopping the Water Tribe boy in his tracks, smashing his own club right into his head. He crumpled on the ground, clutching his new injury.

"Tai Li, take care of him!" yelled Azula, motioning towards the Water Tribe boy. She then charged headfirst at the Avatar, dodging a blast of air, a twirl of his staff. "Mei, to the right!" she called, and her friend obeyed. The Avatar backed away as the two girls lunged at him, eyes scanning the area in front of him. An abrupt gasp of shock came from his mouth as Tai Li pounced from behind him, poking both his pressure points at the same time.

Agitated and confused, the boy shoved Tai Li out of the way and threw his staff into the air, instantly converting it to a glider. But when he tried to jump up and catch it, he fell to the ground. "What?" he said, befuddled. Azula took advantage of his unrest and looped a rope around him, tying it behind his back. She tied his hands and his feet too; she couldn't risk letting the Avatar bend, for that would be his ticket to freedom.

Azula's eyes widened as the arrows on the Avatar's body began to glow and, realizing what was happening, held the Avatar tightly within her grasp. "Mei, Tai Li! Help me restrain him." The three girls secured the ropes but soon the Avatar Spirit's wrath was upon them.

A howling wind of fury circled around the area, lifting up Azula and the others who were still holding secure the Avatar. Even though he couldn't bend because Tai Li had located his pressure points and even though he was tied at the wrists and ankles, the wind billowed mightily around them. Azula tried to focus, mentally cursing as her fire hairpin dropped to the ground below. She kept a monstrous hold on the Avatar, certain that she couldn't let him go, that she wouldn't be bested by a mere _boy_. Finally the wind slowly died down, and the group that had been suspended in the air went crashing to the ground. The Avatar was out cold, bound; Azula marveled at what a lucky day she was having, even though her ribs ached from the fall and her arm panged with pain.

It wasn't every day, after all, that one captured an Avatar.

* * *

Scampering off unnoticed into the tall grass, Momo kept his head down, feeling the urge to squeal in fright but being intelligent enough to know that if he was too loud, he would be captured again. The lemur tumbled through the tall plant life for a long distance and, finally unable to bear the scratchy blades of grass, leapt up and flapped his wings once, twice, many times, until he was completely airborne. 

Once in the air, he flew with a great sense of speed and direction; the lemur navigated his way back to the campsite in a frenzy, and did not settle down once he landed straight on Appa's head. Appa gave a groan of annoyance. Momo ignored the bison, chirping loudly and flicking his large ears this way and that to locate the girl, his master's friend. And there she was, humming to herself cheerfully, doing some unimportant chore while she waited for the boys to return from their food-gathering.

Momo scurried over to the girl, chirping animatedly; the girl laughed and said something that sounded like "Mwap mwa mwap mwap mwa!" Cocking his head to the side, the lemur suddenly remembered: his master, his master's friend! They were in trouble, the master's other friend had to know, had to save them. Momo chirped louder and more insistently, trying to point with his wing, but he still couldn't convey the message to her. Curling his tail nervously, he gave one final, noisy chirp. She just looked at the lemur as though he was insane.

Nervous still, Momo turned and flew over to Appa, poking the bison's head until it moaned and got up from its nap to quell Momo's insistent chirps. Momo gave Appa a quick pinch and evaded Appa's paw as he became airborne once again, flying towards the direction he'd come from. Appa slowly but surely followed—and all at once, the girl finally realized something was wrong.

"Appa, Momo, wait!" she cried out desperately. "Where are Sokka and Aang?"

Momo flew over to the girl and landed on her shoulder. He chirped once more, blinking his wide eyes, and Appa howled eerily up at the empty morning sky.


End file.
